Emerging public space in rural Laos

Abstract

While urban settings stand at the forefront in discussions about public spaces in socialist East- and Southeast Asia, rural public spaces in the region have been hitherto largely unexplored. Drawing on two different upland cases from the northern part of Laos, this contribution identifies local vernacular public spaces on the one hand, and emerging state-connected public spaces on the other. The latter will be argued to comprise: (1) state-controlled public places, (2) public as opposed to private land, and (3) spaces in which the collective identity of the village in relation to the nation-state is displayed. We compare the sociality in vernacular public spaces with the sociality in state-connected public spaces, giving emphasis to socio-spatial practices and sonic dimensions. The contemporary transformation of public spaces in rural upland Laos can eventually be approached through the lens of the “fragmentation of space”, to quote Lefebvre’s felicitous expression, and allows original insights into spatial state-making practices and local efforts (with varying success) to relate to the state.